THE ROLE OF USER CENTERED DESIGN PROCESS IN
UNDERSTANDING YOUR USERS
ANDREA F. KRAVETZ, Esq.
Vice President User Centered DesignElsevier
8080 Beckett Center, Suite 225
West Chester, OH 45069
USAa.kravetz@elsevier.com

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a standard User Centered Design (UCD) process and the importance of understanding
users in order to build better products. It details the steps necessary for implementation of a UCD process ofunderstanding, designing and evaluating. Next the key concepts and deliverables in each phase of the processare outlined. Finally the application of a UCD methodology at Elsevier is explained.
This paper includes highlights from a 2003 field study, which researched the question, “how do scientists in
key disciplines create and use information in their daily research practice in today’s information
environment?”
The value of good design and its increasing importance to product development will be evaluated.
A case study describing how the UCD methodology created a partnership between the librarian, researcher
and developer in the creation of Scopus, a large bibliographic search and navigation system will be addressed.

INTRODUCTION
Years ago as technology driven products were created for people who were not technically savvy. The
concept of helping people understand how to use technology developed. The quest became how to design
products that people will use and buy. 1
Human Factors Engineers were hired by corporations to make their technology driven products easier to use.
User Interface designers were tasked with ensuring that the design of the interface was easy to use. Industry
was striving to build products that would “delight customers” and they were driven by “the voice of thecustomer”. 2 Over time industry has moved away from simply creating an easier to use product to integrating
into the user’s workflow and becoming an indispensable partner.
For the last several years companies have embraced a UCD methodology in developing their products.
Companies have hired experts in the area of human computer interaction and information architects to ensurethat products are task oriented and focus on the user needs, limitations and preferences rather than solely on
the capabilities of the system.
Today, UCD departments can be found in most major corporations. In fact, the current move is beyond aUCD department focused on the user to a company wide culture focused on the user.

USER CENTERED DESIGN EXPLAINED
User Centered design is an approach to designing usefulness and ease of use into products and systems
thereby creating a total customer experience. It is a design philosophy in which the emphasis is on the user
and the aim is for a high level of usability. The UCD expert is focused on usefulness, ease of use and ease oflearning for the user.
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) seeks to understand how humans interact with technology. The
discipline of HCI experts is required in order for the user to have a good experience. The HCI expert not only
listens to the customer but emphasis is placed on the actions of the user. 3A typical UCD process has three major phases-understand, design and evaluate. The steps in the process andthe deliverables in each phase are detailed in this paper.

USER CENTERED DESIGN PROCESS AT ELSEVIER
In 2000 Elsevier created a UCD team, which has grown over the years. The team members are located in six
locations, in three countries. The educational background of the team members is multidisciplinary. All teammembers have a masters or doctorate degree in one of the following disciplines: cognitive psychology, socialpsychology, library sciences, human factors, anthropology or instructional design (for e-learning projects).
The UCD team is involved in all aspects of user centered design for Elsevier. The members of the UCD teamwork on a multitude of projects and products. Two of the team members are experts in accessibility and one isa visual design expert. Many of the members of the team are experts in ethnography, contextual inquiry andusability testing.
The mission of the UCD team at Elsevier is to utilize UCD principles to assist in the creation of easy to use
electronic products that maximize user satisfaction and meet business needs. The team works closely withproduct development and engineers to understand, design and evaluate.
Elsevier has several usability labs on site in major cities so that usability testing can be conducted in theElsevier offices. The advantage to Elsevier is that the labs enable Elsevier employees (product andtechnology) to directly view the user interacting with the product.
Elsevier publishes several user centered design books and guides. Several of the books are considered “themost have” books on the topic of user centered design. Some of the best-known titles are:Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research 4 , Contextual Design: Defining
Customer-Centered Systems 5 , Understanding Your Users: A Practical Guide to User Requirements, Methods,Tools and Techniques 6 , Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, 7 Usability Engineering 8 and GUI
Bloopers: Don’ts and Do’s for Software Developers and Web Designers. 9The parent company of Elsevier, Reed Elsevier, has a core value of customer focus. Reed Elsevier has four
divisions and each division has a UCD team. The UCD teams have a passion for understanding and exceeding
our customers’ expectations.

USER CENTERED DESIGN PROCESS STEPS & DELIVERABLES
The three phases of a standard UCD process are understanding the users, designing the product and evaluating
the users interaction with the product. Each phase includes specific deliverables and goals.

UnderstandThe first phase of the UCD approach is to understand the users, their tasks, and how they work (theirenvironment). During this phase questions are asked such as, “What information resources are currently
used?” “What is the user’s key job tasks and how do they accomplish them?” “What kind of problems does
the user encounter on a day to day basis?” A UCD team will determine the answers to these questions byspending time with the user at the users work site and observing the user’s behaviour in completing daily
work processes. Interviews are held with users and in some cases user profiles or modelling will be prepared.
An important component in the understand phase is to observe what the user is actually doing and not simply
rely upon what a user reports that they do. We know that what people say and what they do and what they
say they do are very different. 10In many cases, product designers and owners believe that they know and understand the users. Frequently thatis not actually the case. In the understand phase, the UCD expert must distinguish between stereotypes andarchetypes. Stereotypes reflect biases and assumptions and should be eliminated from consideration in theunderstand phase. Archetypes reflect facts based upon actual research. Archetypes should be an accurate
reflection of the user and be the foundation for the design.
Field Studies represent one of the best tools to enable a solid understanding of the user. A field study includes
a series of field investigations at the user’s business site. A valid field study attempts to understand the user
and their information activity in their work environment by observing them at work. The field study does not
focus on a product but rather on the users day-to-day activity.
In 2003 Elsevier conducted several field studies. Included are highlights from one such field study conducted
at a center for molecular biology in the United States. The goal of the field study was to understand how
scientists in different disciplines seek and use information in the research context. The methodology
employed for this field study included open-ended rapid ethnography, contextual design analysis andmodelling, activity theory analysis and deep descriptive analysis. The fieldwork included video interviews,
observations, walkthroughs and a concept focus group. Thirteen users participated in maintaining a researchtask diary for a two-week period. The results of the analysis of the information collected from theinformation flow models, the physical models (maps and photos of work environment) and the activity
models identified opportunities for new product development and a better understanding of the user’sbehaviour.
DesignIn the second phase of the UCD process designs are produced. The designs are based, in part, upon theactivities completed during the user understand phase of the process as well as from general knowledge ofhuman computer interaction capabilities and limitations. In this phase the information architecture for theproduct is created either from a prototype, static wire frames (screen shots) or a detailed specification. TheUCD expert insures that best practices in design are followed. Good basic design principles include simple
design, consistency in design, task efficiency and accessibility (for a user who may be handicapped). Usuallya visual designer assists in creating the graphics and overall aesthetics of the product.
The product benefits of a good design have become increasingly important as evidenced by the large numberof major publications with focus on the value of design. 11 Recently, the entire issue of Fast Company wasdevoted to design. 12 The overwhelming success of the Apple iPod and its variations clearly demonstrate how
a good product design can embrace user needs and can continue to evolve over time. Many companies areemphasizing design as their competitive advantage. Nike, Google, Proctor & Gamble, Bose and Sony aresome of the companies with a strong emphasis on design.
Evaluate
During the third phase of the UCD process the user evaluates the designs. During this phase the UCD experts
test the assumptions and behaviour related to specific tasks. The evaluations may include testing withconceptual models or working prototypes. A usability test will evaluate the user’s ability to perform specificfunctions with a prototype. Usability testing is the key method of validating the product design with the user.
In the evaluate phase the product is tested, not the user. The motto often used in testing is that “there are nobad users only bad user interfaces.”

CASE STUDY-SCOPUS
Researchers require large amounts of data from a variety or sources in order to complete their work
assignments. Scientific researchers are often overwhelmed by the huge amount of information available tothem. Librarians are challenged to provide access to the universe of information to the end users. Manyproducts that are available to access information are technology driven and therefore not easily accessible tothe user. Elsevier was determined to build a new navigation tool, Scopus, to assist users.
Elsevier wanted to develop a system that would provide the researcher with the relevant information in aneasy to use product. “Designing such a system requires a reliable and detailed grasp of how researchers
approach an information retrieval task. It requires an understanding of a users workflow, information seeking
behaviour and evaluation. Understanding research behaviour is not an easy task and cannot be done inisolation. It requires partnering with researchers to build the information system of their dreams.” 13Elsevier partnered with 21 institutions with 300 researchers on 4 continents for over 15 rounds of user testing.
During the product development cycle all aspects of the UCD process were followed.
UCD experts conducted contextual interviews. The contextual interviews were structured one hour sessions
held at the user’s work site. Observations, as well as, interviews were conducted at that time. Identifying theresearchers tasks and goals was a key for future work. The same users were contacted repeatedly to review
progress. Static pages, wire frames and prototypes were shared with users in order to elicit feedback.
Based on the continuous interaction with users an easy to use product was developed. When the product wasreleased in 2004 it received very favourable reviews on its ease of use by users and industry publications.
Scopus marketing has relied heavily on the interaction of Elsevier with the development partners andcustomers to create an easy to use and very intuitive product. Scopus is “a product designed by scientists forscientists”. Scopus is an excellent example of how the UCD process had a direct impact on the product by
creating a better customer focused product.

1Beyer, H., and Holtzblatt, K. Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems. San Francisco, CA,Morgan Kaufmann, 1997.

2

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Kuniavsky, M. Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research. San Francisco, CA,Morgan Kaufmann, 2003.
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6Courage, C., and Baxter, K. Understanding Your Users: A Practical Guide to User Requirements, Methods,Tools and Techniques. San Francisco, CA, Morgan Kaufmann, 2005.

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8Nielson, J., Usability Engineering. San Francisco, CA, Morgan Kaufmann, 1993.

9Johnson, J. GUI Bloopers: Don’ts and Do’s for Software Developers and Web Designers. San Francisco,CA, Morgan Kaufmann, 2000.
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11“Bottom Line Design Awards,” Business 2.0, April 2005 and “The Power of Design,” Business Week, May17, 2004.
12

13“Masters of Design”, Fast Company, a special issue, June 2005.

De Groot, S.P, and Knapp, A.E.,”Applying the User-Centered Design (UCD) Process to the developmentof a large bibliographic navigation tool: a partnership between librarian, researcher and developer.” Elsevier
white paper, June 16, 2004.